Wireless communication apparatus, mobile terminal and wireless communication method

ABSTRACT

[Object] To implement wireless communication also with a communicating apparatus that is a limited band terminal capable of receiving only part of frequencies. 
     [Overcoming Means] Provided are a frequency channel allocating section ( 10 ) that allocates frequency channels, a terminal reception quality information processing section ( 6 ) that calculates an optimal modulation rate and required transmit power for each subcarrier, a subcarrier power control section ( 12 ) that controls a level of transmit power for each subcarrier, and a determining section ( 10 ) that checks a reception bandwidth of a communicating apparatus, while determining whether the communicating apparatus is a full band terminal capable of receiving all the frequency channels in the system band or is a limited band terminal capable of receiving only part of frequencies, and when the communicating apparatus is the limited band terminal, the transmit power of all or part of subcarriers is decreased in a frequency channel that is adjacent to a reception band allocated to the communicating apparatus and that is allocated to another communicating apparatus.

This application is a Divisional of application Ser. No. 11/795,408,filed on Jul. 17, 2007 now U.S. Pat. No. 8,150,442. Application Ser. No.11/795,408 is the National Phase of PCT International Application No.PCT/JP2005/022212 filed on Dec. 2, 2005, and claims priority under 35U.S.C. §119(a) to Patent Application No. 2005-010252 filed in Japan onJan. 8, 2005, all of which are hereby expressly incorporated byreference into the present application.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a wireless communication apparatus,mobile terminal and wireless communication method for performingwireless communication in a multicarrier transmission scheme using aplurality of frequency channels each of a group of a predeterminednumber of subcarriers among a plurality of subcarriers arrangedsuccessively at regular frequency intervals in a system band.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, with rapid penetration of cable broadband service suchas ADSL, FTTH and the like in ordinary homes, the so-called rich contentservice has become widespread using speech, video and music beyondtextual information, and an information amount for a person to handlehas increased. Also in mobile communication, rates of using non-speechconversation service have been sharply increasing such as mobile Web,music distribution and the like, and demands for broadband wirelesscommunication have grown as in cable communication.

For such requests for broadband mobile communication, various studieshave been made. Among the studies, OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency DivisionMultiple Access) is an access scheme receiving attention in terms ofspectral efficiency, and fading resistance. OFDMA is the scheme for byusing characteristics of OFDM for arranging densely a large number oforthogonal subcarriers at intervals of a reciprocal of a signalduration, allocating an arbitrary number of subcarriers (or a frequencychannel comprised of a group of successive subcarriers) with goodcharacteristics to each terminal corresponding to receptioncharacteristics varying with terminals in multipath environments, andthereby further increasing substantial spectral efficiency.

The OFDM modulation scheme is adopted in wireless LAN specificationssuch as 5 GHz-band IEEE802.11a and the like, where channels having anoccupied bandwidth of 16 MHz or more are arranged at intervals of 20MHz. Accordingly, a region of 3 MHz or more without carriers existsbetween channels. Further, basically, a single terminal uses a singlechannel, a band for each terminal to be able to modulate and demodulateis the same as a band to communicate and is always constant, andtherefore, this scheme does not correspond to OFDMA.

For OFDMA, any system put into practical use has not existed at thepresent time, but OFDMA is the system for allocating subcarriers andfrequency channel of optimal reception states to each terminal from awide band, and therefore, any proposals agree with one another in theconcept that a band for a terminal to use in communication varies with aband for the terminal to be able to modulate and demodulate being themaximum band. Accordingly, a required frequency band is determined fromthe maximum transmission rate requested in a system, and communicationapparatuses in the system are required to be able to collectivelymodulate and demodulate the frequency band. For example, in “IEICETechnical Report RCS2004-85(2004-06)”, “2004 IEICE General ConferenceB-5-64” and the like, a frequency band of 100 MHz is expected to berequired per user to realize 100 Mbps, and it is proposed to arrangesubcarriers evenly in the band.

-   Non-patent Document 1: IEICE Technical Report RCS2004-85(2004-06)-   Non-patent Document 2: 2004 IEICE General Conference B-5-64

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

The OFDMA scheme as described above is a scheme for selecting afrequency channel that is a group of an arbitrary number of successivesubcarriers or carriers with good reception characteristics of aterminal from the entire band to allocate, and therefore, atransmitter/receiver basically needs to adopt a configuration capable ofperforming modulation and demodulation over the entire band.Accordingly, the need is eliminated of providing a frequency regionwithout subcarriers between channels as in IEEE802.11a. Reversely,providing a frequency region without subcarriers between channels leadsto reductions in spectral efficiency in the entire system, and tofurther severe requirements for hardware with expansion of a processingbandwidth of the communication apparatus. Although thetransmitter/receiver implements broadband transmission by being able tomodulate and demodulate over the entire band, devices used therein arerequired to have high performance, resulting in increases in terminalsize and current consumption, and it is feared that such increasesaffect the cost.

However, users have various needs, and it is obvious that speechconversion and low-rate data communication is used mainly and thatdemands for low power consumption, small-size and inexpensive terminalsexist rather than the functions. Accordingly, although broadbandcommunication receives attention, it is important for thenext-generation system to be able to absorb these needs. To realizeinexpensive terminals, it is first considered limiting the band on whicha terminal is able to perform collective processing. In this case, it ispossible to suppress the band and current consumption in digital/analogconversion, power amplification and the like independently on thetransmission side, but in order for the reception side to extract aspecific band from subcarriers densely arranged, the need arises oftightening requirements for specifications of filters, analog/digitalconversion, sampling clock of the conversion and the like to canceladjacent channel interference, and is feared to be inhibition inproviding inexpensive terminals.

The present invention is carried out in view of such circumstances, andit is an object of the invention to provide a wireless communicationapparatus and wireless communication method for enabling wirelesscommunication to be implemented also with a communicating apparatus thatis a limited band terminal capable of receiving only part offrequencies.

Means for Solving the Problem

(1) To achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention takesfollowing measures. In other words, a wireless communication apparatusaccording to the invention is a wireless communication apparatus thatperforms wireless communication in a multicarrier transmission schemeusing a plurality of frequency channels each of a group of apredetermined number of subcarriers among a plurality of subcarriersarranged successively at regular frequency intervals in a system band,and is characterized by having a frequency channel allocating sectionthat allocates the frequency channels to communicating parties, aterminal reception quality information processing section thatcalculates an optimal modulation rate and required transmit power foreach subcarrier based on reception quality information transmitted fromeach communicating apparatus, a subcarrier modulation section thatperforms modulation for each subcarrier, a subcarrier power controlsection that controls a level of transmit power for each subcarrier, anda determining section that checks a reception bandwidth of thecommunicating apparatus, while determining whether the communicatingapparatus is a full band terminal capable of receiving all the frequencychannels in the system band or is a limited band terminal capable ofreceiving only part of frequencies, where as a result of thedetermination, when the communicating apparatus to which a frequencyallocation is made is the limited band terminal, the subcarrier powercontrol section decreases the transmit power of all or part ofsubcarriers of a frequency channel that is adjacent to a reception bandallocated to the communicating apparatus and that is allocated toanother communicating apparatus.

Thus, when the communicating apparatus to which the frequency allocationis made is the limited band terminal, the transmit power is decreased inall or part of subcarriers of a frequency channel that is adjacent to areception band allocated to the communicating apparatus and that isallocated to another communicating apparatus. Therefore, in the case ofusing a low sampling frequency for low power consumption in thecommunicating apparatus, it is also possible to reduce an effect of anadjacent communication slot in the frequency channel direction. It isthereby possible to implement wireless communication also with thelimited band terminal capable of receiving only part of frequencies.

(2) Further, in the wireless communication apparatus according to theinvention, the subcarrier power control section is characterized byperforming control to set zero on the transmit power of all thesubcarriers of the frequency channel adjacent to the reception bandallocated to the communicating apparatus that is the limited bandterminal.

Thus, by performing control to set zero on the transmit power of all thesubcarriers of the frequency channel adjacent to the reception bandallocated to the communicating apparatus that is the limited bandterminal, it is possible not to allocate any other communicatingapparatus to the adjacent slot. As a result, it is possible to furtherreduce the effect of the adjacent communication slot in the frequencychannel direction.

(3) Further, in the wireless communication apparatus according to theinvention, the subcarrier modulation section is characterized by whenanother communicating apparatus is allocated the frequency channeladjacent to the reception band allocated to the communicating apparatusthat is the limited band terminal, decreasing a modulation rate of thesubcarriers of which the transmit power is decreased in the frequencychannel.

Thus, when another communicating apparatus is allocated the frequencychannel adjacent to the reception band allocated to the communicatingapparatus that is the limited band terminal, a modulation rate isdecreased in the subcarriers of which the transmit power is reduced inthe frequency channel. It is thereby possible to decrease the level oftransmit power, while making the communicating apparatus demodulatecorrectly the communication slot. By this means, it is possible tofurther reduce the effect of the adjacent communication slot in thefrequency channel direction.

(4) Further, in the wireless communication apparatus according to theinvention, the frequency channel allocating section is characterized bywhen the communicating apparatus is the limited band terminal,preferentially performing a frequency channel allocation so that atleast one edge of the reception band of the communicating apparatus is afrequency channel at an edge of the system band.

Thus, when the communicating apparatus is the limited band terminal, thefrequency channel allocation is preferentially performed so that atleast one edge of the reception band of the communicating apparatus is afrequency channel at an edge of the system band. Therefore, it ispossible to limit the communication slot, where the levels of transmitpower are decreased in all or part of the subcarriers, or the level oftransmit power is set at zero, only to one side in the frequency channeldirection. The communication slots can thus be used effectively.

(5) Further, in the wireless communication apparatus according to theinvention, the frequency channel allocating section is characterized bywhen a plurality of communicating parties each of which is the limitedband terminal exists, allocating frequency channels while skipping afrequency channel adjacent to the reception band allocated to acommunicating apparatus that is the limited band terminal to connect thefrequency channel to the reception band of another limited bandterminal.

Thus, when a plurality of communicating parties each of which is thelimited band terminal exists, frequency channels are allocated while afrequency channel adjacent to the reception band allocated to acommunicating apparatus that is the limited band terminal is skipped tobe connected to the reception band of another limited band terminal.Therefore, it is possible to share the communication slot where thelevels of transmit power are decreased in all or part of thesubcarriers, or the level of transmit power is set at zero. Thecommunication slots can thus be used effectively.

(6) Further, in the wireless communication apparatus according to theinvention, the frequency channel allocating section is characterized bywhen the communicating apparatus is the limited band terminal having areception bandwidth of three frequency channels or more and does not usefrequency channels at opposite edges of the allocated reception band,allocating a frequency channel adjacent to the reception band allocatedto the communicating apparatus to another communicating apparatus.

Thus, when the communicating apparatus is the limited band terminalhaving a reception bandwidth of three frequency channels or more anddoes not use frequency channels at opposite edges of the allocatedreception band, another communicating apparatus is allocated acommunication slot that is adjacent to the frequency channel which isnot used and that is not allocated to the communicating apparatus. It isthereby possible to use the communication slots effectively.

(7) Further, in the wireless communication apparatus according to theinvention, the frequency channel allocating section is characterized bywhen the limited band terminals exist and have reception bandwidths onlyof odd numbers of frequency channels, allocating frequency channels to aplurality of communicating parties that are the limited band terminalsin a unified manner so that a frequency channel at the edge of thereception band accords with either an odd-numbered frequency channel oran even-numbered frequency channel starting counting at one edge of thesystem band.

Thus, when the limited band terminals exist, only in the case where thereception bandwidths of the terminals are of odd numbers of frequencychannels, frequency channels are allocated to a plurality ofcommunicating parties that are the limited band terminals in a unifiedmanner so that a frequency channel at the edge of the reception band ofeach of the communicating parties accords with one of an odd-numberedfrequency channel and an even-numbered frequency channel startingcounting at one edge of the system band. Therefore, it is possible toshare the communication slot where the levels of transmit power aredecreased in all or part of the subcarriers, or the level of transmitpower is set at zero. The communication slots can thus be usedeffectively.

(8) Further, the wireless communication apparatus according to theinvention is characterized by at substantially regular intervals or whenit is found that frequency channels are not evenly allocated toodd-numbered channels and even-numbered channels, switching thefrequency channel corresponding to the edge of the reception band ofeach of the limited band terminals between the odd-numbered frequencychannel and the even-numbered frequency channel.

When frequency channels with good reception quality of full bandterminals are large on the unified frequency channel side, sinceallocations are not even, the unified channels are switched betweenodd-numbered channels and even-numbered channels at substantiallyregular intervals. Alternately, by switching the channels whenunevenness is found, the allocations can be dispersed, and it ispossible to perform more efficient data transmission.

(9) Further, in the wireless communication apparatus according to theinvention, the subcarrier power control section is characterized by fora period during which frequency channels corresponding to opposite edgesof the reception band of the limited band terminal are unified to eithereven-numbered frequency channels or odd-numbered frequency channelsstarting counting at the low-frequency side of the system band,performing control so that part or all of the subcarriers in the unifiedfrequency channels have power levels higher than those of subcarriers inadjacent frequency channels.

Thus, it is possible to relatively decrease the transmit power of thecommunication slot, where the levels of transmit power are decreased inall or part of the subcarriers, or the level of transmit power is set atzero, near boundaries of frequency channels corresponding to theopposite edges of the reception band of the limited band terminal. It isthereby possible to improve the effect of aliasing in controlinformation of the limited band terminal, and the demodulationcapability is further improved.

(10) Further, a wireless communication apparatus according to theinvention is a wireless communication apparatus that performs wirelesscommunication in a multicarrier transmission scheme using a plurality offrequency channels each of a group of a predetermined number ofsubcarriers among a plurality of subcarriers arranged successively atregular frequency intervals in a system band, and is characterized byhaving a frequency channel allocating section that allocates thefrequency channels to communicating parties, a subcarrier modulationsection that performs modulation for each subcarrier, a subcarrier powercontrol section that controls a level of transmit power for eachsubcarrier, and a determining section that checks a reception bandwidthof the communicating apparatus, while determining whether thecommunicating apparatus is a full band terminal capable of receiving allthe frequency channels in the system band or is a limited band terminalcapable of receiving only part of frequencies, where as a result of thedetermination, when the communicating apparatus is the limited bandterminal, the subcarrier power control section performs control to setthe transmit power at zero in part of subcarriers in the frequencychannel allocated to the communicating apparatus.

Thus, when the communicating apparatus is the limited band terminal, thecontrol is performed to set the transmit power at zero in part ofsubcarriers in the frequency channel allocated to the communicatingapparatus. Therefore, in the case of using a low sampling frequency forlow power consumption in the communicating apparatus, it is alsopossible to reduce an effect of an adjacent communication slot in thefrequency channel direction.

(11) Further, a wireless communication apparatus of the invention is awireless communication apparatus that performs wireless communication ina multicarrier transmission scheme using a plurality of frequencychannels each of a group of a predetermined number of subcarriers amonga plurality of subcarriers arranged successively at regular frequencyintervals in a system band, and is characterized by having a terminalreception quality information processing section that calculates anoptimal modulation rate and required transmit power for each subcarrierfrom the reception quality information transmitted from eachcommunicating apparatus, a frequency channel allocating section thatallocates the frequency channels to communicating parties, and adetermining section that checks a reception bandwidth of thecommunicating apparatus, while determining whether the communicatingapparatus is a full band terminal capable of receiving all the frequencychannels in the system band or is a limited band terminal capable ofreceiving only part of frequencies, where the terminal reception qualityinformation processing section calculates required transmit power of aterminal to which a frequency channel adjacent to the reception band ofthe limited band terminal can be allocated, and the frequency channelallocating section allocates the adjacent channel to a terminal with therequired transmit power lower than the transmit power of the limitedband terminal among terminals for which the required transmit power iscalculated.

Thus, the required transmit power is calculated for terminals to which afrequency channel adjacent to the reception band of the limited bandterminal can be allocated, and the adjacent channel is allocated to aterminal with the required transmit power lower than the transmit powerof the limited band terminal among the terminals for which the requiredtransmit power is calculated. Therefore, in the case of using a lowsampling frequency for low power consumption in the communicatingapparatus, it is also possible to reduce an effect of an adjacentcommunication slot in the frequency channel direction. It is therebypossible to implement wireless communication also with the limited bandterminal capable of receiving only part of frequencies.

(12) A mobile terminal according to the invention is a mobile terminalthat performs wireless communication in a multicarrier transmissionscheme using a plurality of frequency channels each of a group of apredetermined number of subcarriers among a plurality of subcarriersarranged successively at regular frequency intervals in a system band,and is characterized by having a propagation path estimating sectionthat estimates a propagation path state, and a data generating sectionthat generates reception quality information of a frequency channelbased on the propagation path state obtained by the propagation pathestimation, where the data generating section reports that part ofsubcarriers have quality of a communication disabled level to acommunicating apparatus irrespective of reception quality of thesubcarriers in generating the reception quality information.

Thus, the terminal reports that part of subcarriers have quality of acommunication disabled level to a communicating apparatus irrespectiveof reception quality of the subcarriers in generating the receptionquality information, and is thus capable of reducing an effect of acommunication slot adjacent in the frequency channel direction to acommunication slot allocated to the terminal. It is thereby possible toconstruct a wireless communication system for implementing wirelesscommunication with the limited band terminal.

(13) Further, a wireless communication method according to the inventionis a wireless communication method for performing wireless communicationin a multicarrier transmission scheme using a plurality of frequencychannels each of a group of a predetermined number of subcarriers amonga plurality of subcarriers arranged successively at regular frequencyintervals in a system band, and is characterized by including at least astep of checking a reception bandwidth of a communicating apparatus,while determining whether the communicating apparatus is a full bandterminal capable of receiving all the frequency channels in the systemband or is a limited band terminal capable of receiving only part offrequencies, and a step of decreasing transmit power of all or part ofsubcarriers of a frequency channel that is adjacent to a reception bandallocated to the communicating apparatus and that is allocated toanother communicating apparatus when the communicating apparatus towhich a frequency allocation is made is the limited band terminal as aresult of the determination.

Thus, when the communicating apparatus to which the frequency allocationis made is the limited band terminal, the transmit power is decreased inall or part of subcarriers of a frequency channel that is adjacent to areception band allocated to the communicating apparatus and that isallocated to another communicating apparatus. Therefore, in the case ofusing a low sampling frequency for low power consumption in thecommunicating apparatus, it is also possible to reduce an effect of anadjacent communication slot in the frequency channel direction. It isthereby possible to implement wireless communication also with thelimited band terminal capable of receiving only part of frequencies.

(14) Further, a wireless communication method according to the inventionis a wireless communication method for performing wireless communicationin a multicarrier transmission scheme using a plurality of frequencychannels each of a group of a predetermined number of subcarriers amonga plurality of subcarriers arranged successively at regular frequencyintervals in a system band, and is characterized by including at least astep of allocating the frequency channels to communicating parties, astep of checking a reception bandwidth of a communicating apparatus,while determining whether the communicating apparatus is a full bandterminal capable of receiving all the frequency channels in the systemband or is a limited band terminal capable of receiving only part offrequencies, and a step of setting transmit power at zero in part ofsubcarriers in the frequency channel allocated to the communicatingapparatus when the communicating apparatus is the limited band terminalas a result of the determination.

Thus, by setting zero on the transmit power of all the subcarriers ofthe frequency channel adjacent to the reception band allocated to thecommunicating apparatus that is the limited band terminal, it ispossible not to allocate any other communicating apparatus to theadjacent slot. As a result, it is possible to further reduce the effectof the adjacent communication slot in the frequency channel direction.

(15) Further, a wireless communication method according to the inventionis a wireless communication method for performing wireless communicationin a multicarrier transmission scheme using a plurality of frequencychannels each of a group of a predetermined number of subcarriers amonga plurality of subcarriers arranged successively at regular frequencyintervals in a system band, and is characterized by including at least astep of calculating required transmit power of a terminal to which afrequency channel adjacent to a reception band of a limited bandterminal capable of receiving only part of frequencies can be allocated,and a step of allocating the adjacent channel to a terminal with therequired transmit power lower than the transmit power of the limitedband terminal among terminals for which the required transmit power iscalculated.

Thus, the required transmit power is calculated for terminals to which afrequency channel adjacent to the reception band of the limited bandterminal can be allocated, and the adjacent channel is allocated to aterminal with the required transmit power lower than the transmit powerof the limited band terminal among the terminals for which the requiredtransmit power is calculated. Therefore, in the case of using a lowsampling frequency for low power consumption in the communicatingapparatus, it is also possible to reduce an effect of an adjacentcommunication slot in the frequency channel direction. It is therebypossible to implement wireless communication also with the limited bandterminal capable of receiving only part of frequencies.

Advantageous Effect of the Invention

According to the invention, when the communicating apparatus to whichthe frequency allocation is made is the limited band terminal, thetransmit power is decreased in all or part of subcarriers of a frequencychannel that is adjacent to a reception band allocated to thecommunicating apparatus and that is allocated to another communicatingapparatus. Therefore, in the case of using a low sampling frequency forlow power consumption in the communicating apparatus, it is alsopossible to reduce an effect of an adjacent communication slot in thefrequency channel direction. It is thereby possible to implementwireless communication also with the limited band terminal capable ofreceiving only part of frequencies.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Wireless transmission apparatuses according to embodiments will bedescribed below. These embodiments are predicted on the above-mentionedcommunication scheme by OFDMA.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a frequency channelarrangement on downlink (hereinafter, referred to as “DL”) in an OFDMAcommunication system. In FIG. 1, as shown at the right end as viewed infigure, in OFDMA, subcarriers are arranged uniformly at intervals to beorthogonal to one another on the frequency axis. OFDMA is a scheme forallocating an optimal number of subcarriers corresponding to a requiredband of each user. Further, as shown in the center of FIG. 1, in OFDMA,there is a case where a single frequency channel comprised of anarbitrary number of subcarriers is formed, and allocations are made on afrequency channel basis. Shown herein is an example where a range for areceiver to be able to collectively perform demodulation is comprised often frequency channels. As shown in FIG. 1, the frequency channels arearranged successively in principle. Further, to suppress interferencewith adjacent other systems, guard bands are arranged at opposite sidesof the entire band. This is a typical DL structure, but this structuremay be one unit to form the band comprised of a plurality of units. Inthis embodiment, the entire reception band means this one unit, and thefull band terminal means a terminal capable of collectively processingthe entire band.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating channels used by a base station andterminals in the OFDMA communication system. Shown herein is a statewhere in the system comprised of ten frequency channels as shown in FIG.1, terminals A and B perform communication while respectively requestingfive frequency channels and one frequency channel. Both A and B arecapable of performing demodulation over the entire band, and byconcurrently using respectively allocated five channels and one channel,implement multiple access. Thus, one channel is sometimes enough foreach terminal, and it is also possible to support broadband transmissionrequesting maximum ten frequency channels.

Meanwhile, by introducing terminals (hereinafter, referred to as“limited band terminals”) each of which is limited in the number ofprocessable frequency channels and has a reception band narrower thanthe system bandwidth, requirements for functions necessary for theterminals are lowered, and it is possible to realize power saving andlow cost. Further, needs of users are considered existing to a largeextent such that speech conversation and low-rate data communication issufficient, and introduction of the limited band terminals is thought tobe significant.

However, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, OFDMA is the system introduced forthe purpose of enhancing the spectral efficiency, and a regioncorresponding to a guard band as in wireless LAN of IEEE802.11a is notprovided between frequency channels. Therefore, it is feared to undergointerference from adjacent frequency channels in the frequency channeldirection. This state is shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 shows a state wherelimited terminals with the reception band of one frequency channel(abbreviated as SC in the figure) and with the reception band of threefrequency channels exist in the system band, while showing at the lowerside the processing on the reception side of the one-frequency channellimited band terminal. Herein, the maximum frequency desired todemodulate agrees with half the sampling frequency of an analog/digitalconverter (hereinafter, referred to as “ADC”), and the filter attenuateswith the bandwidth of the adjacent channel. As a result, as shown at thelower side of FIG. 3, the effect of aliasing is imposed. Therefore, inthe embodiments, the effects from the adjacent channels are reduced bymethods as described below.

First Embodiment

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of abase station according to the first embodiment. A radio signal receivedin an antenna section 1 is converted from a radio signal to anelectrical signal by a high-frequency circuit and analog processingsection 2, and subjected to FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) in an FFTsection 3. Next, an equalizing section 4 corrects a reception waveformdeteriorating due to delay distortion in multipath and the like, and asubcarrier demodulation section 5 performs demodulation for eachsubcarrier.

Then, a terminal reception quality information processing section 6analyzes reception quality information received from each terminal. Inother words, in the above-mentioned limited band terminal, for thereception quality information of frequency channels with betterreception conditions on downlink, frequency channels predetermined inthe system or the like, the reception quality that the terminal iscapable of measuring once is only of the limited band. Then, theterminal notifies the base station of the reception information on thelimited band. Further, such a method may be adopted that channels aremonitored and notified in a time division manner. The full band terminalis naturally capable of measuring the reception quality over the entireband, and reports all the results to the base station. Furthermore, sucha method may be adopted that a terminal reports only the information ofa better frequency channel for the terminal.

Further, in FIG. 4, via a control section 7 that controls the entirebase station, a “base station control apparatus” inputs information to auser information storage section 8. The information is to determinewhether a terminal accessing the base station is a full band terminal ora limited band terminal, and further includes a terminal type indicativeof channels that the terminal supports and service contract informationwhen the terminal is the limited band terminal. Meanwhile, data to betransmitted to each terminal from the base station is once stored in atransmission data buffer 9 together with information indicating whetherthe data is of real time or not. A scheduling section 10 performsprioritization based on these pieces of information so as to transmitthe data.

Herein, factors for prioritization of frequency channel allocation areas follows: “Whether the data is of real time or non-real time” . . . ahigher priority is given to real time data communication;

“Optimal bandwidth” . . . a higher priority is given to a larger requestdata transfer amount;

“Reception characteristics due to distance and multipath” . . . thequality of a reception state of a frequency channel transmitted fromeach terminal is compared with one another, and the frequency channel isallocated to a terminal to which data can be transmitted as much aspossible; and“Type of used service” . . . the priority varies with differences inused service systems of subscribers. For example, priorities are givenin consideration of a user that suppress a basic fee per month and doesnot request high quality during busy hours, and service for selectingand designating quality for each call. Further, for example, in the casethat the data is a real-time broadcast but the quality is not required,a lower priority is given.

In FIG. 4, a subcarrier modulation section 11 performs modulation foreach subcarrier, and a subcarrier power control section 12 controls thetransmit power for each subcarrier. Then, an IFFT section 13 performsIFFT (Inverse Fast Fourier Transform) processing, an electrical signalis converted into a digital signal in the high-frequency circuit andanalog processing section 2, and the radio signal is transmitted fromthe antenna section 1.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the schedulingsection 10 in the base station according to the first embodiment.Information of a terminal under communications is input to a determiningsection 10-1 and a terminal priority determining section 10-2 from theuser information storage section 8 that has information of all terminalsaccessing the base station. The determining section 10-1 determineswhether the terminal is a limited band terminal or full band terminal.Based on the real time characteristic of the data, data amounts storedin the transmission buffer 9 and the like, the terminal prioritydetermining section 10-2 determines allocation priorities amongterminals. Based on the result determined by the determining section10-1 and the allocation priorities determined by the terminal prioritydetermining section 10-2, a frequency channel allocating section 10-3allocates a frequency channel for each terminal to use, modulation modeof each subcarrier, and transmit power, and outputs these items to acontrol signal generating section 10-4.

The control signal generating section 10-4 outputs the frequency channelfor each terminal to use, modulation mode of each subcarrier, andtransmit power allocated by the frequency channel allocating section10-3 to the transmission data buffer 9, subcarrier modulation section 11and subcarrier power control section 12, in synchronization with thecontrol section 7.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a frequency channelarrangement on DL in the OFDMA communication system according to thefirst embodiment. The base station recognizes that the frequency channelallocation is for the limited band terminal, and decreases levels of thetransmit power of an arbitrary number of subcarriers from the adjacentside of a frequency channel adjacent to the reception band of theterminal, or sets zero on levels of the transmit power of thesubcarriers. For example, in FIG. 6, the levels of the transmit power ofan arbitrary number of subcarriers are decreased in opposite adjacentfrequency channels of the range enabling reception of the terminallimited in the number of processable frequency channels to one frequencychannel (1SC). Similarly, the levels of the transmit power of anarbitrary number of subcarriers are decreased in opposite adjacentfrequency channels of the range enabling reception of the terminallimited in the number of processable frequency channels to threefrequency channels (3SC). By this means, even when the effect ofaliasing is produced in performing A/D conversion, since the transmitpower is decreased, the effect of aliasing is reduced. In addition, thenumber of subcarriers of which the transmit power levels are decreasedcan be set arbitrarily in the OFDMA communication system.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of attenuation characteristics ofa filter. In a low-pass filter (LPF) prior to the ADC, the type and theorder of the filter are determined depending on properties, circuitscale and the like. In a Butterworth type filter, the attenuationgradient (dB/oct.) of 6 dB×order is generally obtained. Herein, forsimplicity, explanations are given while assuming that a signal band is5 MHz by performing quadrature demodulation on 10 MHz, the cutofffrequency is 5 MHz, and that a fifth order Butterworth filter is used.Gain (attenuation) is 0 dB from 0 Hz to 5 MHz and flat, and since thefifth order is used, is −30 dB at 10 MHz. Further, intervals ofsubcarriers are assumed to be 50 kHz.

When a virtual model with the reception power assumed to be flat isconsidered, aliasing is −0.15 dB, next −0.45 dB, −0.75 dB, . . . at themaximum frequency, and thus overlaps as interfering signals. As types ofLPF, there are Butterworth, Bessel, Chebyshev, elliptic types and thelike, and it is considered that the elliptic filter with steeperattenuation characteristics is suitable for the limited band terminal inthe first embodiment. Even when the characteristics become steeper, itis also impossible to attenuate subcarriers close to the boarder, and itis understood that the adverse effect is produced.

In addition, when decreasing the levels of the transmit power of anarbitrary number of subcarriers from the adjacent side of a frequencychannel adjacent to the reception band of the band limited terminal,modulation rates may be decreased. In other words, the transmit power ofa level such that a predetermined signal to noise ratio is obtained isallocated to a subcarrier to be modulated at a low modulation rate. Bythis means, it is possible to decrease the level of transmit power,while making the communicating apparatus demodulate correctly thecommunication slot, and to further reduce the effect of an adjacentcommunication slot in the frequency axis direction.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the level oftransmit power and the modulation rate. In FIG. 8, shown on the leftside as viewed in the figure is an example of the signal to noise ratio(SNR) enabling bit error rate (BER) 10⁻⁵ to be obtained. The horizontalaxis in the figure is no meaning, and it is shown that SNR of 17 dB, 9dB, . . . is able to achieve BER=10⁻⁵ at 64QAM, 16QAM, . . . ,respectively. In FIG. 8, shown on the right side as viewed in the figureis an example of implementing the first embodiment in the BERcharacteristic and filter characteristics as shown in FIG. 7. This is acase that the limited band terminal is allocated to frequency channel#n, and that the full band terminal is allocated to frequency channel#n+1.

At this point, in order for the limited band terminal to be able tosecure 16QAM, the power of −9.15, −8.85, −8.55 dB . . . −0.45, −0.15, 0dB is allocated successively to subcarriers closer to #n in #n+1. Inthis example, the thirty-second subcarrier is 0 dB. Further, modulationis allocated in the order of no modulation, BPSK, QPSK and 16QAM whichis first allocated in the thirty-second subcarrier. Only one side of thefrequency channel is described in the foregoing, and when a frequencychannel at either edge of the entire band is not allocated, similarprocessing is naturally performed on opposite adjacent frequencychannels to the frequency channel allocated to the limited bandterminal.

The above-mentioned descriptions are of an example, and as describedpreviously, when a further steeper filter is applied, the increment rateof power allocation is increased, while the number of subcarriersrequiring support is decreased. Further, different cases are obtainedalso depending on the interval of subcarriers, difference in SNRrequired by a receiver, margin of SNR and the like. Further, there is acase that a limited band terminal does not need subcarriers at the edgeof the band according to the required transmission amount of eachterminal, and it is considered that the subcarriers are allocated to afull band terminal. This is determined in each system in designing thesystem.

By allocating the transmit power as shown in FIG. 8, the limited bandterminal allocated frequency channel #n is capable of obtaining areception signal as shown in FIG. 9. By this means, in this example, theSNR is obtained that enables 16QAM to be ensured in the band.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a frequency channelarrangement on DL in an OFDMA communication system according to thesecond embodiment. The base station recognizes that the frequencychannel allocation is for a frequency channel limited band terminal, andsets zero on levels of the transmit power of all the subcarriers of afrequency channel adjacent to the reception band of the terminal. Inother words, subcarriers to handle are expanded to the entire frequencychannel, and it is equivalent to not allocating the power. In thisrespect, the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment. In thefirst embodiment, another user is allocated to the adjacent frequencychannel to perform the processing. In contrast thereto, in the secondembodiment, any user is not allocated to the adjacent frequency channelfrom the beginning.

For example, in FIG. 10, the levels of the transmit power of all thesubcarriers are set at zero in opposite adjacent frequency channels ofthe range enabling reception of the limited band terminal limited in thenumber of processable frequency channels to one frequency channel (1SC).Similarly, the levels of the transmit power of all the subcarriers areset at zero in opposite adjacent frequency channels of the rangeenabling reception of the limited band terminal limited in the number ofprocessable frequency channels to three frequency channels (3SC). Bythis means, in performing A/D conversion, since the levels are zero inthe transmit power of the subcarriers targeted for aliasing, the effectof aliasing is reduced.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a communication frame in anOFDMA communication system according to the third embodiment. The firstand second embodiments basically describe the allocation on thefrequency axis. However, in the allocation of frequency channel to eachuser, there is a method of regarding a period defined by a plurality ofsymbols each with a predetermined duration as a time channel, andperforming the allocation on a basis of a unit called a communicationframe comprised of a plurality of time channels and a plurality offrequency channels. In other words, the method is to allocate an optimalslot to each communicating apparatus among communication slots specifiedby time channels and frequency channels in a single frame, andsubsequently, explanations are given including the case that the presentinvention is applied to such an allocation on a communication framebasis. In the following descriptions, the communication frame is formedof ten frequency channels as frequency channels, and ten time slots astime channels. Then, as the limited band terminal, allocations are madeto two one-frequency channel limited band terminals, and onetwo-frequency channel limited band terminal. The fifth to seventh timeslots of frequency channel #2 are allocated to a user of theone-frequency channel limited band terminal, and the tenth time slot isallocated to the other user. The base station notified of the limitedband terminal from the terminal allocates communication slots asdescribed in the first or second embodiment to time slots 5 to 7 and 10in frequency channels #1 and #3.

In other words, in the first embodiment, the levels of transmit powerallocated to an arbitrary number of subcarriers are decreased amongsubcarriers of communication slots adjacent in the frequency channeldirection to the communication slot allocated to the limited bandterminal. In the second embodiment, the levels of transmit powerallocated to all the subcarriers are set at zero in communication slotsadjacent in the frequency channel direction to the communication slotallocated to the limited band terminal. In FIG. 11, the communicationslots as described in the first and second embodiments are calledmeasures slots.

Similarly, time slots 4 of frequency channels #9 and #10 are allocatedto a user of the two-frequency channel limited band terminal. At thispoint, since a guard band exists out of frequency channel #10 (oppositeside to frequency channel #9 in the frequency channel direction), onlyfrequency channel #8 is a measures slot. As in the first and secondembodiments, by adaptively applying measures to adjacent slots, it ispossible to enhance the spectral efficiency, and introduce the limitedband terminal to the same system.

Fourth Embodiment

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating frequency channel allocations toterminals limited to n frequency channels. Herein, frequency channels atopposite edges of the entire frequency band are preferentially allocatedto the limited band terminals. In FIG. 12, channels are allocatedstarting with frequency channel #1 or #10. According to the fifthembodiment, frequency channels with the need of measures slots are ofonly one adjacent side, and slots can be used more effectively.

Fifth Embodiment

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating frequency channel allocations tolimited band terminals according to the fifth embodiment. In FIG. 13, asshown at the left side as viewed in the figure, a predetermined limitednumber of subcarriers are set for dedicated frequency channels. Further,limited band terminals are allocated to be adjacent to one another touse the same time slots as possible. By this means, the measures slotscan be shared, and the use efficiency of communication slots isenhanced.

Generally, a control slot is provided at the beginning of a frame. Thisis because of the need of information such that what slot is allocatedto which user for each frequency channel, and all the users need to beable to demodulate the control information corresponding to respectivefrequency channels. Since this data is modulated at a low modulationrate, it is considered that all the terminals are able to demodulate thedata without particular problems even in environments that limited bandterminals exist. However, by allocating as shown in FIG. 13, frequencychannels with measures slots inserted therein can be fixed, and thepower and the like of the control slot can be different from that of themeasures slot.

FIG. 14 shows two types of specific examples of power control of thecontrol slot. Herein, FIG. 14 differs from FIG. 13, and shows an exampleof a frame structure where slots for one-limited band terminals arearranged over the entire band i.e. a frame structure where a measuresslot is inserted every other frequency channel. By arranging in such amanner, it is possible to support terminals limited to odd-numberedfrequency channels 1, 3, 5 . . . . Although it is not possible tosupport even-number (2, 4, 6 . . . ) limited band terminals, it ispossible to support terminals limited to a minimum one frequencychannel, and the essence is not affected even when slots are skipped.

Thus, since the measures frequency channels (measures slots) are fixed,by decreasing the power in the measures frequency channel to a certainlevel, or decreasing the power toward opposite edges in the band,measures are taken for making the power of the measures slot relativelylower than the power near boundaries adjacent to adjacent frequencychannels near the frequency channel boundaries. It is thereby possibleto compensate for the effect of aliasing also in the control informationof the limited band terminal, and further improve the demodulationcapability. Moreover, as can be seen from FIG. 14, it is possible toarrange selection candidate frequency channels for limited bandterminals over the entire band, and frequency channels with goodreception states can be selected easier from the entire band. For thefull band terminal, it is also considered that the terminal is notaffected by low power due to the low modulation rate.

In FIG. 14, even-numbered frequency channels are measures frequencychannels, and it is naturally considered that the odd number and theeven number are switched at any timing. Further, when the number of allfrequency channels is an odd number, it is possible to perform optimalallocations.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of power control of controlslots and a terminal allocation method. The allocation of frequencychannels is the same as in FIG. 14. Accordingly, the power of thecontrol channel is made high and low repeatedly every frequency channel.FIG. 15 shows allocations of one-limited, three-limited and five-limitedband terminals in this frame. By performing power control of the controlchannel in this pattern, it is possible to send the control informationon all the channels, and the limited band terminals can exist almostevenly over the entire band.

Sixth Embodiment

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a communication frame in anOFDMA communication system according to the sixth embodiment. Inallocating a frequency channel adjacent to a frequency channel allocatedto an n-limited band terminal to another terminal, the base station doesnot give the power to an arbitrary number of subcarriers inward from theopposite edges of the frequency range that the limited band terminal iscapable of receiving. This is a scheme that the terminal notifies thebase station of the information that the quality is poor in an arbitrarynumber of subcarriers, and that the power is thereby not allocated tothe subcarriers under the initiative of the limited band terminal.

Such a terminal will be described with reference to FIG. 17. FIG. 17 isa block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a mobileterminal according to the six embodiment. A radio signal received in anantenna section 161 is converted from a high-frequency signal to abaseband signal in a high-frequency circuit section 162 and delivered toa propagation path estimating section 163 that estimates distortion onthe propagation path and an FFT section 164 that performs FFT (FastFourier Transform). Next, an equalizing section 165 compensates areception signal for deterioration due to delay distortion by multipathand the like based on the propagation path estimation result, and asubcarrier demodulation section 166 performs demodulation for eachsubcarrier.

Then, a terminal reception quality information data generating section167 generates reception quality information based on the informationfrom the propagation path estimating section 163. The data generated inthe terminal reception quality information data generating section 167is output as part of transmission data from a control section 168 to atransmission signal processing section 169, and via the high-frequencycircuit section 162, and antenna section 161, transmitted to acommunicating apparatus.

The mobile terminal as shown in FIG. 17 transmits to the base station adesired frequency channel and the information that lower b subcarriersand upper b subcarriers on the frequency channel are always poor inreception state. By this means, the base station does not need toconsider allocations to adjacent frequency channels.

FIGS. 18 and 19 are flowcharts illustrating the operation of the basestation according to the sixth embodiment. In the figures, “k” is “0” or“1”, and immediately after starting the allocation, is only “0”. Usingk, required transmission bands are obtained for all the terminals, whileprovisional allocations are made to limited band terminals. “i” is aninteger, the loop is circulated in the number of terminals, andpriorities are determined. “j” is an integer, and used in searching fora terminal with the highest priority at this point. “B” indicates thetotal requested transmission band from terminals left withoutallocations.

First, in a first loop, a priority is determined for each terminal,while entire required bit rates are obtained. In other words, k=0 andB=0 is set (step T1), and i=1 is set (step T2). Next, it is determinedwhether k=0 holds (step T3), and when k=0 holds, it is determinedwhether MT(i)=FSCT (full band terminal) holds (step T4). When MT(i) isnot FSCT i.e. is LSCT, required time slots of a desired frequencychannel are provisionally allocated to the LSCT (limited band terminal)(step T5). In step T4, when MT(i)=FSCT holds, the flow proceeds to stepT6.

Next, B=B+RBR(j) (requested transmission band of the ith terminal) isset, and MT(i) is given the first priority to NMT (the number ofterminal in access). Next, it is determined whether i=NMT holds (stepT8), and when i=NMT does not hold, i=i+1 is set (step T9) to shift tostep T3. Meanwhile, when i=NMT holds in step T8, it is determinedwhether B>TLIM (criterion by which to judge a degree of trafficcongestion) holds (step T10), and when B>TLIM does not hold, theprovisionally allocated slots of all LSCTs are determined to be actuallyallocated (step T11). In other words, C is set at NMT—the number of allLSCTs. Then, required time slots of a desired frequency channel areallocated to FSCT, and in the case of shortage, a frequency channel thatis not desired is also allocated to compensate (step T12). Then, theprocessing is finished.

Next, when B>TLIM holds in step T10, j=1 is set (step T13), and it isdetermined whether MT(j)=1 holds (step T14). When MT(j)=1 does not hold,j=j+1 is set (step T15), and the flow proceeds to step T14. Meanwhile,when MT(j)=1 holds in step T14, it is determined whether the terminal isFSCT (step T16). When the terminal is FSCT, it is determined whether adesired vacant frequency channel exists (step T17), and when the desiredvacant frequency channel exists, a slot of the desired frequency channelis allocated (step T18). In other words, bit rate b obtained by thisallocation is entered at one slot allocation ARB.

When the terminal is not FSCT in step T16, it is determined whether aprovisionally allocated slot of MT(j) exists, and when the provisionallyallocated slot of MT(j) exists, the provisionally allocated slot isdetermined to be actually allocated (step T20). Meanwhile, when anyprovisionally allocated slot does not exist in step T19, no allocationis determined (step T21). In other words, bit rate z obtained by thisallocation is entered at one slot allocation ARB.

When any desired vacant frequency channel does not exist in step T17, itis determined whether another vacant frequency channel of a goodreception state exists (step T22). When another vacant frequency channelof a good reception state exists, a slot of the frequency channel isallocated (step T23). In other words, bit rate c obtained by thisallocation is entered at one slot allocation ARB.

When another vacant frequency channel of a good reception state does notexist in step T22, it is determined whether a reception state is good inthe frequency channel provisionally allocated to the LSCT (step T24).When the reception state is good in the frequency channel provisionallyallocated to the LSCT, a slot of the frequency channel is allocated(step T25). In other words, bit rate d obtained by this allocation isentered at one slot allocation ARB.

Next, B=B−ABR and RBR(j)=RBR(j)−ABR are set (step T26), and it isdetermined whether B=0 holds (step T27). When B=0 holds, it isdetermined whether a vacant slot that can be allocated exists (stepT28), and when the vacant slot that can be allocated exists, k=1 is set(step T29), while shifting to step T2. Meanwhile, when B=0 holds in stepT27, or when any vacant slot that can be allocated does not exist instep T28, the processing is finished.

Seventh Embodiment

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a communication frame in anOFDMA communication system according to the seventh embodiment. In theseventh embodiment, the base station detects the reception power foreach terminal. Then, in allocating another terminal to an adjacentchannel of the frequency channel allocated to a limited band terminal,the base station allocates a terminal with high reception power becausethe terminal exists closer to the base station and the like. Then, thetransmit power of the slot is set to be lower than the power of thefrequency channel allocated to the limited band terminal. It is possibleto use such control of transmit power together with each of theabove-mentioned embodiments.

Eighth Embodiment

It is a feature of the eighth embodiment to have functions of the first,second and seventh embodiments. FIGS. 21 and 22 are flowchartsillustrating the operation of the base station according to the eighthembodiment. In the figures, “k” is to increment a priority to handle foreach loop. “i” is an integer and used in a loop to determine a priorityof a terminal and handle in the order of priority. “B” indicates thetotal requested transmission band from terminals left withoutallocations. “NLSC” indicates the number of limited frequency channelsof a limited band terminal. “NRSC” indicates the number of frequencychannels that each terminal requests. “GBH” is “0” or “1”, andrepresents implementing measures for an upper (higher frequency)adjacent frequency channel when “1”, while representing no need of suchmeasures when “0”. “GBL” is “0” or “1”, and represents implementingmeasures for a lower (lower frequency) adjacent frequency channel when“1”, while representing no need of such measures when “0”. In addition,“k” and “i” in FIGS. 21 and 22 are used in different meaning from thatof “k” and “i” in FIGS. 18 and 19.

As shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, first, a priority for each terminal isdetermined in a first loop, while entire required bit rates areobtained. In other words, terminal symbol i=1 and the terminal requestedtransmission band B=0 are set (step S1), and priority 1 to NMT (thenumber of terminals in access) is given to terminal MT(i) in access(step S2). Next, B=B+RBR(i) (requested transmission band of the ithterminal) is calculated (step S3), and it is determined whether i=NMTholds (step S4). When i=NMT does not hold, i=i+1 is set (step S5), andthe flow shifts to step S2.

Meanwhile, when i=NMT holds in step S4, it is determined whether B<TLIM(criterion by which to judge a degree of traffic congestion) holds (stepS6). When B<TLIM does not hold, in other words, when the traffic iscongested, it is notified that frequency channels at opposite edges ofthe entire band are allocated to limited band terminals, and thatfrequency channels inward of the band are allocated to full bandterminals (step S7). When this notification is not transmitted, eachterminal uses a frequency channel of a good reception condition.

Next, i=1 and k=1 are set (step S8), and it is determined whetherMT(i)=k holds (step S9). When MT(i)=k does not hold, i=i+1 is set (stepS10), and the flow shifts to step S9. Meanwhile, when MT(i)=k holds, itis determined whether the terminal is FSCT (full band terminal) (stepS11), and when the terminal is FSCT, GBH and GBL are set at zero (stepS12).

Meanwhile, in step S11, when the terminal is not FSCT i.e. is LSCT(limited band terminal), in the case that an interval between themaximum and minimum requested channels is narrower than a number oflimited channels by two frequency channels or more, the need iseliminated of providing measures frequency channels out of the band bysetting an allocation not to allocate opposite sides of the limitedband, and GBH and GBL are also zero. In other words, it is determinedwhether (RSC#max−RSC#min)≦(NLSC−2) holds (step S13), and when(RSC#max−RSC#min)≦(NLSC−2) holds, GBH=0 and GBL=0 are set (step S14),and NRSC=NRSC+2 is set, while RSC#max+1 and RSC#min−1 are added to RSC#(step S15).

Further, when an interval between the maximum and minimum requestedchannels is one frequency channel, and the requested frequency channeldoes not include an edge of the entire band, it is necessary to providemeasures frequency channels at opposite sides, and GBH and GBL are setboth at “1”. In other words, when (RSC#max−RSC#min)≦(NLSC−2) does nothold in step S13, it is determined whether RSC# includes SCH#min orSCH#max (step S16), and when RSC# includes neither SCH#min nor SCH#max,GBH=1 and GBL=1 are set (step S17).

Meanwhile, when RSC# includes SCH#min or SCH#max in step S16, it isdetermined whether RSC# includes SCH#min (step S19). When RSC# includesSCH#min, GBH=1 and GBL=0 are set (step S19). When RSC# does not includeSCH#min, GBH=0 and GBL=0 are set (step S20).

Then, time slots are allocated so that the terminal secures requestedfrequency channels up to a required bit rate. In other words, it isdetermined whether GBL=0 holds (step S21), and when GBL=0 holds, it isdetermined GBH=0 holds (step S22). When GBH=0 does not hold, theterminal requested SCH (frequency channel) and SCH adjacent on the upperside to the limited bandwidth including the requested SCH are allocatedcorresponding to required time slots (step S24). Meanwhile, when GBH=0holds in step S22, the terminal requested SCH is allocated correspondingto required time slots (step S25).

When GBL=0 does not hold in step S21, it is determined whether GBH=0holds (step S23). When GBH=0 holds, the terminal requested SCH(frequency channel) and SCH adjacent on the lower side to the limitedbandwidth including the requested SCH are allocated corresponding torequired time slots (step S26). Meanwhile, when GBH=0 does not hold instep S23, the terminal requested SCH and SCH adjacent on the oppositesides to the limited bandwidth including the requested SCH are allocatedcorresponding to required time slots (step S27).

Next, when vacant slots are not present in the requested frequencychannel, it is checked whether the full band terminal allocated thefrequency channel can be allocated another frequency channel, and when acandidate exists, the frequency channels are switched (step S28). Thisseries of operations is repeated corresponding to the number ofterminals. In other words, it is determined whether k=NMT holds (stepS29), and when k=NMT does not hold, k=1+1 and i=1 are set (step S30),while shifting to step S9. Meanwhile, when k=NMT holds in step S29, theprocessing is finished.

As described above, according to this embodiment, when a communicatingapparatus is capable of using only a limited number of frequencychannels in a communication frame, the levels of transmit power aredecreased in all or part of subcarriers of a communication slot that isadjacent on the frequency channel side to a communication slot allocatedto the communicating apparatus and that is not allocated to thecommunicating apparatus in a communication frame. Therefore, in the caseof using a low sampling frequency for low power consumption in thecommunicating apparatus, it is also possible to reduce an effect of theadjacent communication slot in the frequency channel direction. It isthereby possible to implement wireless communication also with thecommunicating apparatus limited in the frequency band that thecommunicating apparatus is capable of collectively process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a frequency channelarrangement on downlink in an OFDMA communication system;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating channels used by a base station andterminals in the OFDMA communication system;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the effect of aliasing in a terminallimited in the number of processable frequency channels;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of abase station according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a schedulingsection in the base station according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a frequency channelarrangement on DL in the OFDMA communication system according to thefirst embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of attenuation characteristics ofa filter;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the level oftransmit power and the modulation rate;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between subcarriersand transmit power;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a frequency channelarrangement on DL in an OFDMA communication system according to thesecond embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a communication frame in anOFDMA communication system according to the third embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating frequency channel allocations toterminals limited to n frequency channels according to the fourthembodiment;

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating frequency channel allocations tolimited band terminals according to the fifth embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing two types of specific examples of powercontrol of control slots in the fifth embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of power control of controlslots and a terminal allocation method in the fifth embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a communication frame in anOFDMA communication system according to the sixth embodiment;

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of amobile terminal according to the six embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a base stationaccording to the sixth embodiment;

FIG. 19 is another flowchart illustrating the operation of the basestation according to the sixth embodiment;

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a communication frame in anOFDMA communication system according to the seventh embodiment;

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a base stationaccording to the eighth embodiment; and

FIG. 22 is another flowchart illustrating the operation of the basestation according to the eighth embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS

-   1 Antenna section-   2 High-frequency circuit and analog processing section-   3 FFT section-   4 Equalizing section-   5 Subcarrier demodulation section-   6 Terminal reception quality information processing section-   7 Control section-   8 User information storage section-   9 Transmission data buffer-   10 Scheduling section-   10-1 Determining section-   10-3 Frequency channel allocating section-   11 Subcarrier modulation section-   12 Subcarrier power control section-   13 IFFT section-   161 Antenna section-   162 High-frequency circuit section-   163 Propagation path estimating section-   164 FFT section-   165 Equalizing section-   166 Subcarrier demodulation section-   167 Reception quality information data generating section-   168 Control section-   169 Transmission signal processing section

The invention claimed is:
 1. A base station apparatus for an OFDMAsystem using a plurality of frequency channels, the base stationapparatus comprising: a transmission unit configured to: transmit firstdata to a first terminal apparatus using one of the plurality offrequency channels, wherein the base station apparatus is configured toselect the one of the plurality of frequency channels based on a firstcapability of the first terminal apparatus to receive the selectedfrequency channel and to set an unused subcarrier that is not used forcommunication by any terminal apparatus in communication with the basestation apparatus, wherein the base station apparatus is capable ofprocessing a bandwidth that includes the plurality of frequency channelsand the first capability of the first terminal apparatus is limited toreceiving a portion of the bandwidth that includes the selectedfrequency channel, wherein the unused subcarrier is positioned at anedge of the one of the plurality of frequency channels, and transmitsecond data to a second terminal apparatus using the plurality offrequency channels based on a second capability of the second terminalapparatus; and a reception unit configured to periodically receive, fromthe first terminal apparatus and the second terminal apparatus,reception quality information a frequency channel used when transmittingdata.
 2. The base station apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transmissionunit is further configured to transmit a first subset of at least one ofthe first data and the second data using a first number of frequencychannels for a first time channel and transmitting a second subset ofthe at least one of the first data and the second data using a secondnumber of frequency channels for a second time channel, wherein thefirst number of frequency channels is different from the second numberof frequency channels, wherein each of the first and second timechannels comprises a period defined by a plurality of symbols havingpredefined durations.
 3. The base station apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe transmission unit is further configured to simultaneously transmitthe first data to the first terminal apparatus and the second data tothe second terminal apparatus, wherein the first terminal apparatus iscapable of receiving only the selected frequency channel; and whereinthe base station apparatus is further configured to set the unusedsubcarrier based on the portion of the bandwidth to which the firstterminal apparatus is limited.
 4. The base station apparatus of claim 1,wherein the transmission unit is further configured to set a number ofsub-carriers used for each frequency channel of the plurality offrequency channels.
 5. A terminal apparatus for an OFDMA system using aplurality of frequency channels, the terminal apparatus comprising: areception unit configured to receive data transmitted from a basestation apparatus; a reception quality measurement unit configured tomeasure at least one reception quality for at least one of the pluralityof frequency channels, and a transmission unit configured toperiodically notify the base station apparatus of the respectivereception qualities for the plurality of frequency channels; wherein anumber of used sub-carriers is set for each frequency channel by thebase station apparatus and an unused subcarrier that is not used forcommunication is set, wherein the unused subcarrier is positioned at anedge of the least one of the plurality of frequency channels; whereinthe terminal apparatus is configured to communicate with the basestation apparatus via one of the plurality of frequency channels that isselected by the base station apparatus based on a capability of theterminal apparatus to receive the selected frequency channel, whereinthe base station apparatus is capable of processing a bandwidth thatincludes the plurality of frequency channels and the capability of theterminal apparatus is limited to receiving a portion of the bandwidththat includes the selected frequency channel.
 6. The terminal apparatusof claim 5, wherein the reception unit is further configured to receivethe data transmitted from the base station apparatus using the selectedfrequency channel from the plurality of frequency channels, wherein thereception quality measurement unit is configured to measure receptionquality for at least some of the plurality of frequency channels thatinclude the selected frequency channel.
 7. The terminal apparatus ofclaim 5, wherein the reception unit is further configured to receive thedata transmitted from the base station apparatus using only a subset ofcontiguous frequency channels of the plurality of frequency channels,wherein the reception quality measurement unit is configured to measurereception quality for the subset of contiguous frequency channels.
 8. Amethod for operating a base station apparatus of an OFDMA system using aplurality of frequency channels, the method comprising transmittingfirst data from the base station apparatus to a first terminal apparatususing one of the plurality of frequency channels, wherein the basestation apparatus selects the one of the plurality of frequency channelsbased on a first capability of the first terminal apparatus to receivethe selected frequency channel and sets an unused subcarrier that is notused for communication by any terminal apparatus in communication withthe base station apparatus, wherein the base station apparatus iscapable of processing a bandwidth that includes the plurality offrequency channels and the first capability of the first terminalapparatus is limited to receiving a portion of the bandwidth thatincludes the selected frequency channel, wherein the unused subcarrieris positioned at an edge of the one of the plurality of frequencychannels, and transmitting second data from the base station apparatusto a second terminal apparatus using the plurality of frequency channelsbased on a second capability of the second terminal apparatus; andperiodically receiving, by the base station apparatus from the firstterminal apparatus and the second terminal apparatus, reception qualityof a frequency channel used when transmitting data.
 9. The method ofclaim 8, further comprising: transmitting, from the base stationapparatus, a first subset of at least one of the first data and thesecond data using a first number of frequency channels for a first timechannel; and transmitting, from the base station apparatus, a secondsubset of the at least one of the first data and the second data using asecond number of frequency channels for a second time channel, whereinthe first number of frequency channels is different from the secondnumber of frequency channels, wherein each of the first and second timechannels comprises a period defined by a plurality of symbols havingpredefined durations.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein furthercomprising simultaneously transmitting, from the base station apparatus,the first data to the first terminal apparatus and the second data tothe second terminal apparatus, wherein the first terminal apparatus iscapable of receiving only one of the plurality of frequency channels;and wherein the base station apparatus sets the unused subcarrier basedon the portion of the bandwidth to which the first terminal apparatus islimited.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the base station apparatussets a number of sub-carriers used for each frequency channel of theplurality of frequency channels.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein theunused subcarrier is also set based on a notification from the firstterminal apparatus that the unused subcarrier has a poor signal quality.